It’s 1983. Lucasfilm has just finished a trilogy of Star Wars Skywalker Saga movies. It’s 2005. Lucasfilm has just finished a trilogy of Star Wars Skywalker Saga movies. It’s 2019. Lucasfilm has just finished a trilogy of Star Wars Skywalker Saga movies.
It’s 2024. We’ve had a total of nine movies specifically revolving around the Skywalkers. There are potentially more on the way, as Deadline has announced that Simon Kinberg has been tapped to write a new Star Wars trilogy that he’ll produce alongside Kathleen Kennedy.
Whether or not these three new movies will actually involve the Skywalkers is a bit unclear. Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. said he heard Kinberg’s trilogy will “comprise Episodes 10-12 of The Skywalker Saga” while simultaneously noting that “insiders disputed [his] intel that Kinberg will continue that storyline, saying this instead will begin a new [age.]”
The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit also said, according to his sources, Kinberg’s trilogy will not be part of the Skywalker Saga and instead focus on new characters and “a new path forward.”
While we wait for official confirmation regarding what these movies will actually be about, I’d like to make the case that, while the Star Wars galaxy is a vast place and many people are sick of seeing the franchise revolve around a single family, now is the right time to finish out the Skywalker Saga for good.
The Skywalker Saga needs to end on a better note
I refuse to have any kind of conversation about the quality of 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Whether you love it or hate it, toxic internet fandom made it nearly impossible to have any kind of healthy, productive conversation about that movie, what it does right, and what it does wrong. I’ve had enough toxic internet fandom the past couple of days. We’re not going to get into it.
That said, regardless of how you feel about The Last Jedi, 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker didn’t do it for a lot of fans. It made plenty of money at the box office and it has its defenders, but, with the movie sitting at 51 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, many weren’t a fan of the overabundance of fan service or the forced Emperor Palpatine subplot.
You may not love the fact that they made Daisy Ridley’s character a Skywalker — personally, I was more interested in Rey when her origins were tied to nobody in particular — but they did that. It’s canon. And I’m a firm believer that retconning canon just because you didn’t like it only creates more confusion and unhealthy fan bases. So, if Rey is a Skywalker, if she doesn’t come from this family line that is so important to the galaxy, why not end the saga on a higher note rather than in such a mediocre way?
Many Star Wars projects set outside the Skywalker Saga have struggled
Lucasfilm has had a hard time getting other Star Wars projects that aren’t related to the Skywalkers off the ground. Sure, everyone loves Andor, but that’s ending after the next season. The Mandalorian started off strong, but the last two seasons have been divisive and now they’re continuing that storyline with a movie instead of another season.
There have been other shows and movies, too, of course, but many of those seem to have led to dead ends: It sounds like we’re never going to see a second of The Acolyte, for example. Solo: A Star Wars Story ended by setting up a bunch of new storylines to explore, but those have remained largely untouched. Whether Skeleton Crew does anything to move the needle remains to be seen (I have my doubts).
And those are just the ones that have actually been released recently. Where is Patty Jenkins’ Rogue One movie? Rian Johnson’s trilogy? The Guillermo del Toro Jabba the Hutt project? Rey’s supposed to get her own solo, spin-off movie at some point, too, but who knows when and if that’ll ever happen: Continuing the character’s story via the Skywalker Saga instead may be one of the only surefire ways to make sure that Star Wars fans actually get to see these movies, as Lucasfilm was pretty quick when working on Episodes 7-9.
An end to the Skywalkers could mean a new beginning elsewhere
Remember when Luke Skywalker showed up at the end of The Mandalorian Season 2? Or how Obi-Wan was as much about Darth Vader as it was Obi-Wan? Lucasfilm will still find a way to fit the Skywalkers into these projects, whether or not they’re actually part of the Skywalker Saga. That’s a fact.
The inverse can also be true. If Kinberg’s movies were to conclude the Skywalker Saga once and for all, it could also be an opportunity to introduce new characters that actually go somewhere once the trilogy ends. They’ve got three movies to set this up, meaning it doesn’t have to be something that’s rushed or shoved down fans’ throats. There’s an opportunity here to do some real, meaningful world-building that could expand on this universe in a unique way; if doing so means we have to hang out with the Skywalkers for a bit longer, I’d much rather have that than see Lucasfilm throw Kinberg’s trilogy in the trash if the first one isn’t received as well as they’re hoping for.
There’s much to consider and, ultimately, we likely won’t know what this new trilogy revolves around for some time — assuming it actually does get made. However, just because these new movies could potentially be about the Skywalkers again, it doesn’t mean they can’t do something new. A proper send-off while opening up new doors to explore could be just what this franchise needs.
